Posts Tagged ‘Thai’

Well, this post is about gettin the best of both worlds – a Thai massage and thai food – prepared by your masseuse no less!

I discovered Luang Pak Dee spa at the Thai festival held out in Stoekel last year. They had stands from many Thai restaurants across Brussels and cooking demonstrations from chefs. It was a meltingly hot day and we were tired from the trek out there, so we stripped off to test one of the many Thai massage stands. For the same price, the 3 of us got very different massages, but we were all impressed, so I booked for a friend and I to test a full 1 hr massage. The spa is very near the Grand Place, in a somewhat seedy street near the Casino. Inside, you are transported to Thailand with magnificent furniture and decoration. They speak all languages, but none well. The guy upstairs seemed confused that I had booked and had to get someone on the phone. Shortly afterwards, 2 women came running up the street wearing not enough clothes for such a cold day. He took us downstairs to get changed into the supplied massage clothing. I chose traditional Thai massage that is a mix of pressure point and almost chiropractic manipulation and stretching. If you choose aromatherapy with oil, I imagine the massage is conducted without clothing.

In Thai massage, your masseuse gets on the table with you and pulls you into various positions. Neither of them spoke English or French, so we communicated in sign language when she needed me to turn over, to lace my fingers, to resist or go with her motion. The pressure point massage is tough. They really go for it… I almost screamed a few times, but came out feeling like I was walking on new legs! My friend had a similar experience. I prefer focus on the neck and shoulders, where I tend to keep my stress, but I let them do their thing – and they do focus more on the legs, without ignoring any part – they do your head, face, back, arms and hands.

For me, the major advantage of this spa is that it is open on a Sunday. It is 50 euros for a 1hour Thai massage and the reason this is making it onto a restaurant review blog… is that they also run a Thai restaurant nearby. It’s called Thai Talks and is more of a snack bar than a long relaxing sit down dinner…. and our meals were prepared by our masseuses. They clearly had been summoned from there when we arrived and they left before we were dressed… so I am moved to wonder who was cooking during our 1 hour massage – as I saw noone else working there.

I have no photos of our food, as I did not take a camera with me for a massage! I chose the typical Phad Thai noodles – served with 2 giant prawns, chicken, peanut and tamarind. This was delicious, if a little sweet from the tamarind. Not too spicy, and a good serving size. The noodles were well prepared; in short I really liked it. My friend took the red curry with mixed seafood and this was nicely spiced. The seafood came from the freezer (we could watch the preparation, so we know)… but they were good quality. We hesitated on drinks, so our waitress recommended ‘Thai Ice Tea’. This is homemade with longan fruit. It is sweet, with a prune-like flavour. I found it refreshing with the meal and very pleasant. The whole thing was very good value (we paid 30 euros for the two of us). The service was very much ‘leave you to it’. Given the basic language skills, this was optimal.. we were in the back room and could chat comfortably while they chatted to each other (it was quiet time.. we were alone in the resto). We did not wait long if we needed anything, but they didn’t come on check on us. I prefer this sort of service in a snack bar anyway!

It’s not a big place; nor overly comfy. The chairs were basic and the toilet was down a spiral staircase through the kitchen.
I was just amused that you can get authentic Thai massage and cuisine from the same woman in 2 short hours, near the grand place, for a good price. So, I recommend it to you, dear readers.. if you fancy a massage or a thai snack!

Compared to other Thai dishes in Brussels, the flavors in this spicy prawn and vegetable curry were excellently strong and fine all at once. It went down smooth and hot like coconut milk and hot peppers ought. Unfortunately, however, the portion was so small that I was hungry enough to eat a durum from the nearby Sultans of Kebab immediately afterward.

Oh, I had eaten a starter and my rice, too, but all that was useless. The starter was some small fried fish patty that could have been the salted and greasy offspring of an unholy union of hard tofu and bicycle tire rubber, and that was a complete waste. At least the curry completely canceled that out.

Clearly this place was more geared toward business-types, given the small portion sizes and slightly classier ambiance.

The place may be good on an expense account, but the other Thai restaurants on Dansaert are generally better. Use that knowledge for what you will.

As someone lucky enough to live near Chatelain, I find it exciting when another new resto opens up in the area. The latest addition is Lucy Chang on the corner of rue Americaine and rue du Mail. This place is perfect for a summer’s after-work drink and dinner; there are tables in the sun outside and a spacious airy interior decorated with a shiny ceiling and a cool mismatch of Asian artifacts. All that’s topped off with friendly and efficient service.

The menu boasts a range of Southeast Asian cuisine which all sound mouth watering. I settled on a Thai spicy chicken salad (Laab Gai 8,50eur) matched with a sweet milky cold Thai tea to sooth my burning mouth (think bubble tea without the tapioca). This dish was hot as it should be, but at a level that was still edible and that did not mask the distinctive fresh herb flavours. Not bad at all. My friend’s noodles (one from the Wok menu) also looked and smelled extremely appetizing.